questioning about the boston bombings. right now, the fbi review team is on its way to orlando. earlier this morning, 27-year-old ibragim todashev attacked an agent with a knife. he was not suspected of playing a role in the boston bombings, but he does have ties to the suspect tamerlan tsarnaev. pete williams joins me now with the latest on the investigation. pete, what can you tell us? >> authorities say they knew each other. that todashev was a mixed martial arts fighter and he lived in the boston area at the time that tamer lan tsarnaev was a boxer and they knew each other from that circuit. investigators say they just recently talked to each other. so the fbi was questioning him as part of an effort to talk to anyone who had been in touch with or knew -- well, knew, a, and b, had been in touch with tamerlan tsarnaev recently.

and according to what we have been sold by several officials, the fbi had been talking to him for the last several days and he was confessing to his role in a 20 11 triple homicide in the same community where the two men were living. in which three people had their throats cut. they had marijuana sprinkled over them and cash. no one had ever been arrested in that. and according to officials, todashev became violent, lunged at the fbi agent at the knife and at that point he was shot. it is not clear at this point who fired the shot. because we've been told by law enforcement officials that the fbi was there in this house, in orlando. also massachusetts state police and at least one orlando policeman. so the question of who shot him is still under investigation. but the shot was fatal, tamron. >> pete, are officials giving more information?

as you point had out, they knew each other. what that means as far as how frequently they spoke. the fact that the fbi was at that man's door and they talk with him and question him, would seem as if this is more than a casual passing at the gym. you know, training for boxing or whatever. >> well, yes. i think that's correct. but i think more to the point, they had been in touch just recently. one of the things that the fbi's been doing is checking anyone that either of the bombing suspects had talked to recently on the phone by checking their phone records, looking through their cell phone, looking at their e-mails and they had recently been talking to each other. so there are many reasons why the fbi wanted to talk to him. >> do we know any more about the alleged role he played in the triple murder? boston globe has written extensively on this. at one time, the fbi thought tamerlan tsarnaev had nothing do with this, but this is a friend

of his and do we know what they mean by a role played in that triple murder? ? >> no. both tamerlan tsarnaev and ibragim todashev knew one of the victims in that homicide. that is one reason why i think authorities had initially wondered about whether the tsarnaevs had any connection to that. all they are saying now is that it is still under investigation. >> pete, thank you. greatly appreciate you making time for us. now to nbc in orlando, kerry sanders, what have you learn bed this individual? >> well, he was somewhat known just because the area where i'm standing, he would walk around this lake here and apparently had had some sort of problem with his leg and so that's made him stand out. plus, he spoke with an accent. we can look over into the area here where you see a tent set up in the background. that's where the authorities have been working under a cover there. the residents in this area say

it was around midnight when they heard not one shot, but one shot, maybe three shots, maybe six shots. depends on who you speak to. we do know that inside, speaking to ibragim todashev was fbi agent as well as representatives from the massachusetts state police and local police. and so, the authorities right now are processing what is a crime scene. we do not know whether the medical examiner has already come and removed todashev's corpse or not. we are waiting for a development. we have seen, what i think, is the fbi shoot team walking in and out and sort of looking at the scene inside taking some photographs. sort of piecing it all together. and of course that is standard police procedure in any shooting, to make sure that they have as much evidence that they can look at later in case other questions come up. >> all right, kerry, thank you

for the latest from orlando. we are breaking another story. another scandal involving the west point. now there is a bizarre turn of events at west point. >> this army sergeant first class, michael mcclendon wab who was a staff adviser at military academy at west point, has, in fact, been accused of placing hidden cameras and secretly filming female cadets in bathroom, showers and locker room facilities there at west point. he was relieved as doubties as staff adviser, sent up to for the drum in upstate new york where he has been charged of four counts, including an indescent acts and dereliction of duty. what makes this case a little odd of the recent cases, he had

actually been a highly decorated combat veteran from iraq. earned a bronze star in baghdad where he worked on eod. that's those explosive ordinance personnel. he was a combat engineer. and they were in charge of going out and finding ieds and saving lives. now, interestingly enough, there, at west point, he was charged with looking after the well-being and discipline of 125 cadets. that was his staff advisory job. and now he faces these four counts of actually secretly tape recording female cadets in some pretty compromising positions. >> nick, thank you very much. in a contentious house hearing on the irs hearing now in its fifth hour. in fact, we have live pictures of the hearing happening on capitol hill. embattled irs official lois lerner envoccing her fifth amendment right not to testify.

>> i will not answer any questions or testify about the subject matter of this committee's meeting. >> we will take your refusal as a refusal to testify. the witness and counsel are dismissed. >> lerner is the one, who two weeks ago, disclosed that agency targeted groups. she issued an apology before taking the fifth. lerner read a statement. >> i have not done anything wrong. i have not broken any laws. i have not violated any irs rules or regulations. and i have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee. >> now that statement set off republican congressman of south carolina. take a listen. >> she waived her right to fifth amendment privilege by issuing an opening statement. she ought to stand here and answer our questions.

>> is it possible that we could narrow the scope of questions and that there are some areas that you would be able to answer any questions on here today? would you be willing to answer questions specifically related to the earlier statements made under oath before this committee? >> i decline to answer that question for the reasons i've already given. >> for this reason, i have no choice but to excuse the witness, subject to recall -- >> with that, lerner and her attorneys got up and left the hearing. joining me live from capitol hill, nbc news, luke russert. luke, that's what a lot of folks are noticing. same issue that congressman goudy pointed out, that lerner would read a statement saying there is no wrongdoing but then envoc the fifth amendment. >> yes. she pretty much defended herself saying there is no wrongdoing but would not subject herself to exactly what her role was in

this scandal that engulfed the irs. tamron, what is fascinating from watching today's hearing, last week was more political, trying to tie president obama to the irs and conservative groups. today the oversight committee, they really went into the sort of lack of institutional control at the irs and the systemic problems within the organization by not -- where they would not inform congress of these types of investigations. that they had done internally in the political targeting. take a listen to some democrats go after irs folks this hearing. >> you misled congress. make no question about it. you told us one thing when you learned, when you learned that our suspicions were true, when you learned that there was a list, you did nothing. you did nothing. you be a docated your responsibility. >> do you take responsibility for what happened in the cincinnati office? >> do i take responsibility for the list? >> yes. >> being done?

i don't take personal responsibility for there being a list with criteria put on it. but i do accept the fact that this did happen on my watch. >> so tamron, what you saw there, essentially was democrats going into the irs officials and saying, why was there so much disinformation, misinformation, rather, coming out of the irs when they were specifically asked about this type of targeting. it was fascinating hearing that touched on that and it brought up this whole idea of who was in charge at irs. how come the inspengtor general -- the inspector general was asked, why weren't they operating more quickly in terms of responding to congress. which you saw more than anything was the oversight committee very upset that congress, the legislative branch role, of oversight here, was not being catered to in a prop are way, tamron. >> luke, how much is said that lerner perhaps decided not to

answer the questions due to the fact that there could be a criminal investigation here? >> that certainly is something that had been mentioned today. there is, even a request for republicans, to have a special prosecutor look into ms. lerner and what happened at the irs. certainly the fact of the matter she thought it was okay to give a statement but would not give herself to questioning, lead to think, maybe there is more there and to scrub away at. it will be interesting to see what plays out. but lois lerner is someone that both democrats and republicans both feel she should lose her job. this just feeds more of that. >> luke russert. thank you. >> take care. >> president obama will in fact travel to oklahoma this sunday to see the damage for himself. homeland security secretary janet napolitano already on the ground as we get early estimate

as to the cost of the disaster. we are also learning, the most important details. we are learning about those, the youngest victims, who lost their lives. in fact, the father of one little girl has spoken out, talking about his daughter. we will play what he said. and a jury deciding whether jodi arias lives or dies for killing her ex boyfriend. >> a lot of people out there feel like the only true justice for travis alexander is for you to get the death penalty. >> that's not justice, that's revenge. >> you can find more information at tamron hall@"news nation." [ male announcer ] house rule number 53.

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developing now. president obama will visit devastated cities in oklahoma. janet napolitano is already on the ground there pledging federal support for rebuilding. >> on behalf of fema, we will be here to stay until this recovery is complete. >> now the oklahoma insurance department releasedity first estimate of the cost of the tornado damage, $2 billion they say. and most importantly, today we are learning more about some of the victims. some of the 24 victims whose lives were claimed by the twister. authorities say ten were children, including 9-year-old janae hornsby. she was one of the first victims identified in plaza towers elementary school. her father spoke earlier today. >> what was your daughter like? >> she was -- she was loving,

caring, fun, energetic. she was just sunshine on a rainy day. >> another victim identified 65-year-old hemet bhondi. his wife survived. now, the news, craig, which we expected, the president will be there sunday. >> yeah, he is going to be here sunday visiting families and first responders. you mentioned janet napolitano. one of the interesting things that came out of that news conference, she indicated six people were still unaccounted for, tamron. at this point, it's not clear whether they've been found and they just haven't contacted officials yet or whether there are still folks trapped under the rubble. that would conflict with what we heard a few hours ago where the

searchers said they found everyone. you mentioned the little 9-year-old girl, third grader, famous for having a smile that's been described as contagious. you also mentioned 65-year-old hemet bhandi. he was separated from his wife when the tornado struck. we also found out about 8-year-old kyle davis, another one of the youngest of the victims. ten children died. we found out earlier today, that of the ten, two of them were infant. there was four-month-old and also a seven-month-old who perished. but again, at this point, officials say they are confident that the death toll is not expected to rise. i want to show you something else, tamron hall. you guys have seen various versions of the hospital. this is the south side of the hospital in moore. again, completely, completely decimated. hundreds of cars in the parking lot.

amazingly, they had gotten everyone out of the hospital. mother nature, just the indiscriminate nature of this tornado, literally a hundred yards, you can't see behind me, a hundred yard behind me, there is an imax theater, barely touched. barely touched. but again, we walk around, talking to folks, and you meet someone who has either lost everything or knows someone who's lost everything. can you go 20 or 30 more feet and someone who is just thankful that they didn't lose anything. >> and craig, back to the number of casualties and really getting clairety on if this is still a, you know, recovery effort and that they believe people are still missing. and does that speak to the fact that it really is slow-going and just getting everything organized from the information on if people are still missing, down to making sure people have what they need supplies and shelter as we move forward.

>> exactly. exactly. and again, at this point, there seems to be some, i wouldn't say confusion, but, yeah, confusion. the six people that homeland security secretary napolitano mentioned, it is not clear at this point whether they are actually missing or whether they have just not contacted authorities. and also, the folks here on the ground, red cross you mentioned salvation army, all of these entities, want to make sure we are getting the word out that there is shelter available, food available and to just contact them. >> if you would like to donate to red cross, text redcross to 90999. chicago has parents, unions

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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. now to phoenix arizona where a jury is deliberating. as they speak the jodi arias fate, jurors have been behind closed doors weighing whether she deserves the death penalty. in the courtroom yesterday, arias pleaded for her life, telling jurors she intend to spend her time in jail helping others and asked them to spare her family the pain of seeing her on death row. >> i'm asking you, please, please don't do that to them. i've already hurt them so badly, along with so many other people. i want everyone's healing to begin. and i want everyone's pain to stop. >> just hours after her plea to the jury, arias spoke to nbc's joanna alvear. here, she is waiting to hear the

decision, which might come down soon. and she is talking with you, diana. >> everyone want to know how she does such a quick about face. a couple weeks ago after the death sententhe the jury verdict, she wanted a death sentence. >> if it was self-defense, why commit suicide? >> well, it wasn't so much that -- yeah, i was defend mig self but that doesn't mean i wasn't despairing and i felt like my whole life was over -- >> was it guilt, remorse? >> that was certainly an element. guilt, remorse, just -- i've completely f'd up my life and i would be doing everyone a favor

and that is how i would help everyone back then. >> if it was self-defense, why was it so violent? did she have to stab him so many times? did she have to slit his throat? and she said she couldn't remember what happened that night. i said within what is an appropriate punishment? here is her answer. >> it is probable the jury will sentence you tomorrow. what do you deserve? >> i can't really comment on that. what i receive will be what i deserve. i believe. >> so you will be at peace with the death sentence? >> it will be a sentence. it won't be necessarily going off to receive the death penalty immediately. so i don't know what a death sentence means. a death sentence means that this case drags on and on and on for years. tons more litigation. appeals. all of that. >> in just a short while ago, the jury was called back into

the courtroom and told by the judge, they do have the possibility of sentencing her to life if prison with possibility of parole after 25 years. tamron? >> diana, thank you very much. and coming up, the people of moore, oklahoma vow to rebuild. but what changes will be made now that this is their second ef-5 tornado? >> mr. chairman, votes are 13 yays, 5 nays. >> it passes. >> now that immigration reform bill has passed a senate committee, we look at what's next. nbc's senior political editor mark murray will join us with the first reading. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment.

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so make sure your kids are active 60 minutes every day. you'll help them feel good and even perform better in school. the more you know. as mentioned, the white house confirmed president obama will travel to oklahoma on sunday to survey damage done by monday's deadly tornadoes. preliminary estimate put the total cost of the damage at at

least $2 billion. homeland security secretary janet napolitano is already on the ground, helping with efforts for clean-up and get fema assistance for those whose homes were destroyed. the mass destruction on the ground, there are a lot of people taking a hard look at building codes in the state of oklahoma. here is tom costello. >> reporter: yet another devastating tornado and so many people are asking, why aren't there more basements in the very place they need the most, tornado alley. and where why aren't there more tornado shelters? many of those who manage it get underground, survived. >> it ripped open the dor. and it just glass and debris started slamming on us. we thought we were dead, to be honest. >> reporter: basements are not common in oklahoma because the soil, heavy with clay and water, makes anything underground prone

to water and mold. most homes are built on a concrete slab. and most go up to 90 mile-an-hour wind, not 200. >> we do not build to with stand wind the same way we do along the coast. >> reporter: a reinforced box, almost like a bank vault, but built to fema tornado standard cost 8 will to $10,000 each. oklahoma has a lottery to decide who get state help to pay for them. last year 500 homeowners were chosen out of 16,000 applicants. separately the city of moore was applying for $2 million in federal aid to help build safe rooms in 800 homes. but the city complained the program was delayed because fema standard were quote a constantly changing target. fema says it's looking into what caused the delay. so why weren't schools better prepared? >> certainly, it raised a lot of questions with people. why don't schools have storm

shelters? >> today state officials said 100 schools do have safe rooms but they're expensive. fe fema estimate, $1.4 million per school. >> when you have limit fund, you set priorities on schools. it is not they were left out for any reason. it was a matter they were not brought forward yet. >> there aren't any community tornado shelters because the town said it faced 1 to 2% chance of a tornado ever hitting on any spring day. tom costello, nbc news. >> joining me now, julie rothman, president of insurance institute for business and home strategy. julie, thank you for your time. we were looking at, for example, after hurricane andrew, building code requirements quickly changed for that area. and actually had an impact throughout the united states. florida even took a look at its criteria for wind load provisions. basically tried to build florida back in a better way. do you believe we will see that

in moore? >> i sure hope so. we do see the disaster hopefully teaches lessons and people take the lessons seriously. one thing we want people to learn, like with what happened in moore, we can build again. we can have better, safer, stronger homes, schools, businesses, hospitals. not necessarily against an ef-5 but certainly an ef-0, ef-1, ef-2. those kinds of damages we don't have to continue to see. >> in tom costello's piece he point had out shelters were 8 to $10,000. i saw one estimate a little lower. but nonetheless, we are looking at money that, especially a working class neighborhood like moore has been described as being, where people cannot afford it. they may want it but they can't afford it and they have to depend on the lottery system that seems so unfair when have you 500 out of 20,000 who get the lottery or who win this lottery for that shelter.

>> shelters are somewhere around $4,000, maybe more. fema does have grants available to people, up to $7500 to help them put in a storm shelter. i know the same tom costello piece talked about bureaucracy involved. i think it is important to understand, if you need the peace of mind, if you want the shelter, you can get one. ef-5 tornadoes, ef-4 tornadoes, really represent only about 1% of the thousand pltornadoes we e every year in this area. so you can tie the walls to the foundation for less intense wind storms they will see a lot more of. >> in tom's piece, city officials thought the chances of another ef-4 after one in 1999 seemed to be slim to none. we know they certainly beat those odds. that's why we are here at this situation. the larger issue is what to do

in rebuilding. will this be the water shed moment? not just for oklahoma, but maybe other cities. texas and others, in the so-called tornado alleys as we are seeing the incredible tornadoes and forces of nature. >> well, it would be nice if that's the case. you mentioned florida, the state that i live in in florida we learned a lot from hurricane andrew and put great codes and enforced those codes. after katrina hit the gulf coast, louisiana put a statewide code in place. oklahoma is an interesting case. they are on an older version of the building codes in oklahoma city. newer version in the rest of the state but only four of the 77 counties have adopted the 2009 codes. it is important to know that code are a minimum building standard. very minimum legal level which you can build. so we have a lot of brittle remaining construction in oklahoma as people rebuild. it is an opportunity to do better, and we hope that they will. >> julie, great information. thank you for joining us. very insightful, thank you.

>> thank you, tamron. a measure crafted by the bipartisan gang of 8 is now headed to the full senate. >> it passes. >> supporters of the measure chanted "yes we can" last night after it was approved by the judiciary committee, 13-5. mark murry, you point out there was still drama regarding patrick lachey of vermont call awning an amendment that would recognize same-sex partners here. jay carney was just asked about this at the white house daily briefing. >> that was the measure that a lot of supporters for this comprehensive immigration reform package were worried about. particularly on the democratic side. these democrats, including chuck schumer, pat leahy are for this in principle, but republicans were against it. at the end of the day they

decided not to include the amendment because they wanted to keep supporters like john mccain, lindhy graham and marco rubio, all republican members of that gang of eight. so the legislation moves to the senate floor. looks like senate will take it up after the memorial day holiday. looks like most of june will be about trying to pass that legislation on the senate floor. >> but there was at least one headline that indicated that those within the gay community, i think the headline was something around that they had been over by the bus. there was disappointment, nevertheless, that action taken. that what jay carney was asked about whether or not the white house signed off on removing that amendment. >> no doubt there was disappointment from those organizations. including democratic senators supporting gay rights. but at the end of the day most important thing for whether this can pass or not is how many republican senators can support this on the senate floor. more republicans who end up supporting it on the senate

floor, the greater -- comes the name of the game. some 68, 70 vote might put pressure on john boehner, house republicans to take up the measure. >> a numbers game. thanks, mark, for talking with us today. planned protest in chicago tonight as the board of education decides whether to close more than 50 schools. we'll have more on the plan that has so many parents absolutely outraged. ith puffs ultra soft &. puffs has soft, air-fluffed pillows that are dermatologist tested to be gentle on your skin. face every day with puffs softness. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed

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billion dollar budget shortfall is forcing the chicago school board to vote on closing nearly 50 elementary schools. the vote is happening right now. thousands of parent and student have been protesting the plans for months. and continue to do so today. parent and the teachers union are concerned the closings unfairly impact minority and special needs student forcing them to take longer and possibly dangerous routes to school because the one in their

neighborhood is closed. nbc's nick bog ert is live in chicago. nick, this has an impact on the approval rating of ron emmanuel, who is at the center of this. >> yeah, a poll shows 41% of people in chicago that she polled support the teacher's union position on this, holding 19% back from the mayor. this is something being watched by the "politico"s at this point, the head of the teacherers' union said they need a new mayor and hinted at throwing her name in the hat herself. there are 330 schools or so they say are underenrolled. they narrowed the list to 54 then dropped for four more off this morning. so only 50 are targeted but by far that is the biggest school closing chicago ever tried, tamron. >> you have parents who say they

have children who will have to travel great distances to get to an elementary school. they say they have to go through dangerous neighborhoods. we know what is going on in chicago. >> yeah, almost all of these schools slated for closings are the south an west side, minority community by and large. i heard one alderman saying that if you close down school x, the kid from school x will have to travel through a neighborhood where there are five different gangs who are active in order to get to school y, their new school. they say that is just an unfair burden to put on these kids and their parent and there is some talk that the city may press fire fighters into duty trying to guard school lanes to make sure that kid are safe going to school. it is a very real concern. >> and the vote is tonight. >> yeah. originally it was supposed to happen about now. but there was civil

disobedience. a number of the aldermen maybe went on longer than expected. so we are still several minutes if not an hour away. >> thank you very much. we appreciate the update. we have breaking news we are following out of london. an attack on man in london earlier today, maybe terror related. there are indications a soldier who was attacked by two individuals with a machete, that this may be a terror attack. let me go to nbc's michelle kozinski live first in london. michelle, this is getting a lot of traction but take us to the beginning of what happened here. >> hi, tamron. this was a violent bizarre attack in the middle of the day today on a busy london street. the government's calling it sickening and barbaric and the prime minister just said there are strong indications that this was a terrorist attack. eyewitnesss say this young man, thought to be a british soldier, was walking along the road around 2:30 in afternoon right next to an army barracks and

near an elementary school when two men drove up in a car, seemingly knocked him over with it, then got out and started stabbing and hacking him with multiple knives and machetes. some say the victim was decapitated during the attack and the two men started running around and asking people in the horrified crowd to take pictures. as some of this was caught on tape. one of the suspects is standing there with blood all over his hand holding a large knife and meat cleaver and he said on camera, the only reason we have killed this man today is because muslims are dying daily by british soldiers. an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. also unnamed government initials quoted as saying the two men shouted "god it great" in arabic. there is a an emergency meeting and the prime minister will be back from the meeting tomorrow. >> i understand the prime minister is in france and is on his way back. >> yes. rushing back because of this.

when you hear from terrorism expert, it is hard what to make of this at this point. the men may be british. they are speaking english well. with y but the one op tan tape, he sai apologize that women had to witness this. but he says in our land women have to see the same. and he said, remove your government, they don't care about you. much is unconfirmed by the government at this point. >> thank you very much. we'll be right back. by eating kellogg's raisin bran®. mom make you eat that? i happen to like raisins. [ male announcer ] invest in your heart health. now that's what i'm talkin' about. [ male announcer ] with kellogg's raisin bran®.

time now for the "news nation" gut check. more than three years after the deadly fort hood attack an investigation from our nbc station in dallas has left victims stunned and angry. document reveal the army has paid the aaccused shooter hundreds of thousands in salary sips his arrest. kxas has the story.

>> i honestly thought i with a is going to die in that building. >> reporter: november 5, 2009. major nidal hasan opens fire inside the armty deployment center at fort hood. 13 dead, 32 wounded. >> when i first got shot -- >> reporter: three bullet hit army specialist logan burnett, active duty heading to iraq. >> the blood and the thought of, that my blood everywhere. >> reporter: burnett nearly died. he's had more than a dozen surgeries to remove shrapnel and says post traumatic stress still keeps him up at night. now he is fighting a new battle again the army and he is stunned by something nbc 5 investigates uncovered in this letter from the department of defense. >> it's ridiculous. >> reporter: burnett says the shooting was like combat.

>> you take throw round and you lose five good friends, and you watch, you know, seven other people get killed in front of you. do you have another term we can classify that as? >> reporter: but the army has not classified burnett's wound as combat related and the army has declined to label the incident a terrorist attack. even though fbi report show hasan was communicating with a member of al qaeda and the government's national terrorism center lists the incident as high fatality terrorist attack. the army calls it a case of workplace violence. >> it sickens me. absolutely sickens me. workplace violence -- i don't even know if i have the words to say. >> reporter: buzz of that characterization, burnett and the other victims have not been given combat related pay. and they're not eligible for purple heart retirement and medical benefits given to other soldiers wounded overseas and in

the 9/11 attack on the pentagon. burnett, his wife, torry, earth families of other fort hood victims miss out on thousands of additional assistance every year. >> they don't need to be treated like this. they don't need to sit and fight everyday for this, you know, this benefit or that. >> reporter: while the families argue for more help, nbc 5 investigates learned major nidal hasan received hundreds of thousands of dollars in military pay since his arrest. >> i want to show you something. this is a letter we received from the army showing how much major hasan has been paid since he was arrested. >> there have been times when my wife and i cannot afford groceries. we cannot afford gas in our car. literally times where we ate nothing but ramen noodles for weeks on end. and this makes me sick to my stomach.

>> reporter: hasan's total pay since the shooting, more than $2 $278,000. the defense department confirmed the numbers in response to a freedom of information act request. the army tells us under the military code of justice they cannot suspend hasan's pay unless he is proven guilty but more than three years later, he is still awaiting trial. >> we're giving the defendant in this case every benefit of the doubt, but yet we're not giving benefits to victims. >> reporter: congressman rooney is a former prosecutor at fort hood. he reisn'tly signed a bipartisan letter urning chuck hagel to reclassify deaths and injuries as combat related. the letter says the current situation has resulted in an embarrassing lack of care and treatment for the victims and their families. >> what happened here is clearly not just workplace violence. what happened here is an attack on our military by a terrorist element, specifically targeting

our military, which just so happened to be in the united states of america. >> reporter: rooney says he is also willing to consider whether congress should change the rules. so the army could suspend the pay of soldiers arrested for crimes. if hasan had been a civilian defense department employee, nbc 5 learned the army could have suspended his pay after just seven days. personnel rules for most civilian government workers allow for indefinite suspensions. in cases when the agency has reasonable cause to believe that employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of impri n imprisonment may be imposed. we wanted to ask officials about hasan's pay and the decision to classify the shooting as workplace violence but the army turned down our request for an interview. the army's chief of media relations told us the department of defense is committed to the integrity of the ongoing court-martial proceedings of major nidal hasan. and for that reason will not

further characterize at this time the incident that occurred at fort hood on november 5, 2009. logan burnett recently retired from the army. he's moved to arkansas, living with family to save money. >> i learned that nothing's ever going to go the way you want. >> reporter: meanwhile the burnetts and other fort hood vi victims are suing the army for the benefits they believe they have been unfairly denied. >> i refuse to continue letting nidal hasan win. and i leave the major part out because, even though unfortunately he is still paid better than i am, he doesn't deserve that rank. >> scott friedman, for nbc news. >> after that report airs, frank wolf of virginia introduced an amendment to give the fort hood victims combat bay and purple heart benefits. what does your gut tell you?

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wireless is limitless. breaking news right now on "the cycle." severe weather marching east. officials in oklahoma are getting their closest look yet that tornado devastation. the president is heading there next. she is facing death so why does jodi arias look to bright today? lerner facing number five in congress. officials believe they have located everyone feared missing. so far 24 people are dead, including ten children, the youngest just seven years old. 207 are injured. dozens still getting help at local area hospitals. as we expected this tornado has now officially been upgraded to ef-5